System, method and apparatus for widespread commercialization of hydrogen as a carbon-free alternative fuel source

ABSTRACT

A loading system for a lighter-than-air craft hull that includes a vehicle that transports cargo containers into a hull loading area. This vehicle engages one of a set of longitudinal rails located inside the hull running fore and aft, where each rail has a unique vertical position and a unique horizontal position inside the hull. There is a crane to raise a particular container transported by the vehicle to the unique vertical position of one of the rails and to move it horizontally to the unique horizontal position of the rail. The crane attaches a rail wheel to the container and suspends the container from the rail. There is a rail tug that pushes or pulls the container along the rail forward into the hull to a final shipping location for that container.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the fields of production ofcarbon-free alternative energy sources, transportation of gases, andaircraft design, and more particularly to a system, method and apparatusemploying a specially-designed airship for transporting hydrogen fromwhere it is generated, in a preferred embodiment via geothermal- orwind-powered electrolysis, to where the hydrogen is needed as analternative energy source. Alternative embodiments of the inventioninclude applications for economical transportation of cargo andpassengers, as well as for transporting water to help recharge areasthat are adversely impacted by the depletion of traditional glacial andsnowpack sources.

Description of the Prior Art

In Freedom from Mid-East Oil, a book co-authored by the inventor, thecase is made for the proposition that “Humanity now stands at thepinnacle of the Hydrocarbon Age, in which energy is developed by burning. . . hydrocarbons. [ . . . ] Hydrocarbons powered all of the advancesof the Industrial Age. However, our hydrocarbons of choice—from coaland, eventually, to oil and gas—are wreaking devastation on theecosystem. Moreover, their dwindling supply makes this form of energyincreasingly less viable.”

Accordingly, “the most important domestic and foreign policy challenge[we face] is achieving energy efficiency and independence from MiddleEast oil—and ultimately all imported oil. [ . . . ] Oil production is at99% of full capacity, and . . . increased demand by China, India, andother developing nations will devour any surplus caused by U.S.efficiency measures or economic downturn, keeping oil prices relativelyhigh. From now on, the global demand for oil will grow faster thanproduction capacity . . . . The only nations somewhat protected fromeconomic hardships will be those that take definitive action to achieveenergy independence from fossil fuels.”

“The hydrogen economy is the only reliable long-term solution to theenergy and climate crises confronting civilization. There is now noother technology option that can safely produce clean energy to powertransportation systems and our stationary infrastructure to sustaincurrent levels of global prosperity, let alone increase these levels tosustain our fellow planetary citizens.”

It is widely known that hydrogen is the most abundant element in theuniverse, and one of the most abundant on Earth, found in numerousmaterials including water, natural gas and biomass. In its molecularform, hydrogen can be used directly as a fuel—for example, to drive avehicle or heat water—or indirectly to produce electricity forindustrial, transport and domestic use. The huge advantage that hydrogenhas over other fuels is that it is non-polluting since primarily theonly by-product of its combustion is water.

Currently, the most common method for producing hydrogen is via thecatalytic steam reforming of methane to produce hydrogen and carbonmonoxide; and then further reforming the carbon monoxide to produceadditional hydrogen, if required. However, natural gas is not arenewable source of fuel, and the steam reforming process to makehydrogen ultimately contributes to the worldwide increase in globalemissions of carbon dioxide. Accordingly—although (except for uniqueconditions as described herein) it is currently more costly—the mostpromising method of producing hydrogen in the long-term is theelectrolytic splitting of water (electrolysis), in which an electriccurrent is passed through water, decomposing it into hydrogen at thenegatively charged cathode and oxygen at the positive anode. If theelectricity used to split the water is generated from a renewable sourcesuch as solar, wind, biomass, wave, tidal, geothermal or hydropower,then there is the potential to sustainably produce hydrogen in anon-polluting manner.

At unique locations where natural geologic or climatic conditions makeit possible to economically use such renewable sources to produceelectricity, the feasibility of inexpensively producing hydrogen in anon-polluting manner is being demonstrated. For example, the Big Islandof Hawaii currently uses geothermal energy to produce more than 15% ofits electricity and has the potential of generating 100% if itdetermines to do so. Hawaii has also successfully demonstrated the useof wind-generated power, and recently approved creating a demonstrationproject to show the technological and economic feasibility of usingexcess geothermal power produced during non-peak hours to createhydrogen from water, using electrolysis. This demonstration project,along with a similar project that is being undertaken in Iceland, revealthe potential for using our vast geothermal resources—a clean,renewable, continuous and reliable energy resource produced by tappingthe heat stored in the Earth's crust—to produce massive quantities ofhydrogen at a far lower cost and reduced environmental impact than byany other process.

However, these places where natural conditions favor the most economicalaccess to such renewable sources for producing hydrogen in anon-polluting manner are not commonly situated in the same locationwhere the largest demand occurs. For example, even on the Island ofHawaii itself, there are significant discrepancies between the locationof the major power generators, approximately 85% of which according to a2006 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of EnergyEfficiency and Renewable Energy, are concentrated on the eastern side ofthe Island, versus the locus of the Island's major population and energyconsumption requirements, which occurs on its western side.

This challenge of physical separation between the location wherehydrogen can be most economically produced from renewable energy sourcessuch as geothermal, wind, wave, tidal or hydropower, and the placeswhere it is (or is likely to be) most severely needed, is typical acrossthe U.S. as well as globally. Accordingly, in order for this low-cost,carbon-free energy alternative to be meaningful beyond the limitednumber of places where, as an example, molten rock and superheated waterand steam occur relatively close to the Earth's surface, will require animproved means for transporting the gas from these geologically idealproduction sites to where the hydrogen is most needed as an alternativeenergy source, but without using high-powered transmission lines or avast network of hydrogen gas pipelines. Similar needs exist with respectto the natural conditions that favor wind generation; or areas thatfavor solar, wave, tidal or hydropower-based generation. In each ofthese cases, nature has created features that favor comparatively lowcost, clean electricity generation, the current from which can be usedto electrolyze hydrogen from water. Since the technologies for creating,storing, condensing and utilizing hydrogen are well known and widelyavailable, what is missing is a system and method of efficiently andsafely transporting the hydrogen from where these natural conditionsoccur to where there exists a market need for this alternative energyresource.

This need for an improved method to deliver hydrogen from the placewhere it can be most economically produced with the least adverseenvironmental consequences to the place where it is needed is emphasizedby a paper entitled “The Future of the Hydrogen Economy: Bright orBleak.” Authored by Swiss scientists, B. Eliasson, U. Bossel and G.Taylor. This April 2003 paper (revised in February 2005) analyzes theenergy needed to deliver hydrogen using a number of different methods,and concludes that the energy needed to package and deliver the gas toend users would consume most of hydrogen's energy.

In it, the authors write that “hydrogen, like any other commercialproduct, is subject to several stages between production and use. [ . .. ] Whether generated by electrolysis or by chemistry . . . the gaseousor liquid hydrogen has to undergo these market processes before it canbe used by the customer. [ . . . ] For reasons of overall energyefficiency, packaging and transport of hydrogen should be avoided ifpossible. Consequently, hydrogen may play a role as local energy storagemedium, but it may never become a globally traded energy commodity. [ .. . ] The analysis shows that transporting hydrogen gas by pipeline overthousands of kilometers would suffer large energy losses. Moreover, inpractice, the demands on materials and maintenance would probably resultin prohibitive levels of leakage and system costs. Furthermore, theanalysis shows that compression or liquefaction of the hydrogen, andtransport by trucks would incur large energy losses.”

This is the commonly held perception today, and demonstrates thelong-standing need for the system, method and apparatus of the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to efficiently transporting hydrogen fromwhere it can be economically made to where it is most needed usingspecially designed airships. Technologies such as geothermal, wind,solar, wave tidal or hydropower can be used to generate electricityin-situ or very near to the primary energy sources. This electricity canthen be used to produce hydrogen directly from water through variousmethods known in the art.

The present invention then utilizes an improved means to deliverhydrogen from the place where it is produced to the place where it isneeded using an airship in which the hydrogen gas can also be used forgenerating lift, providing propulsion energy and serving ancillaryneeds. In other embodiments of the invention, the airship of the presentinvention can be used to dramatically reduce the cost of transportationof freight, the cost of passenger transportation, and to save on thearea required for landing at the points of loading and embarkation, andunloading and debarkation. And in another embodiment, the airship of thepresent invention can be used for transporting water to areas that areadversely impacted by low rainfall and the depletion of traditionalglacial and snowpack sources, and for transporting food and suppliesfrom areas where such goods are plentiful to more remote areas that mustimport them.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block flow diagram illustrating how the system of thepresent invention may be used to produce and transport hydrogen from theplace where the gas is generated to the area where the hydrogen isneeded as an alternative energy source.

FIG. 2A depicts an exterior side-view of an embodiment of an airshipaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 2B shows a possible embodiment of the mounting of a flap.

FIG. 2C shows an embodiment of the mounting of a rotatable engine.

FIG. 2D shows the use of a drone device to accomplish docking.

FIG. 3 is an interior side view of the airship of FIG. 2A, showinghydrogen storage compartments and a controlled bladder system.

FIG. 4 shows a tank/bladder system.

FIG. 5A shows an elevator truck loading a container.

FIG. 5B shows the elevator truck in an elevated configuration.

FIG. 6A shows a side view of container loading into a ship.

FIG. 6B shows a rear-on view of container loading.

FIG. 7 shows a tug pushing container into the ship on a rail.

FIG. 8 shows passenger loading.

FIG. 9A shows a side view of an alternate loading embodiment.

FIG. 9B shows a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 9A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method of using naturallocations where the existence of geothermal, wind, solar, wave, tidal orhydropower-based conditions favor the generation of electricity that canbe used to generate hydrogen from water using electrolysis, and thenemploying specially designed airships to transport that hydrogen gasfrom the location where the gas is produced to the place where it isneeded as an alternative fuel source. Because the airship containshydrogen gas, which is approximately 14 times lighter than air, thecraft can carry quite a substantial payload, which in a preferredembodiment is at least a substantial quantity of hydrogen gas itself asa payload.

The craft's maneuverability in taking off, landing and changingdirections is enhanced through one or more engine mounts that permit thepreferably hydrogen-fueled engines to rotate and pivot so that theyprovide upward or downward thrust, either vertically or at an acceptableangle of ascent or descent, as well as in a lateral plane so that theengines may act like thrusters on a boat.

Turning to FIG. 1, a block flow diagram can be seen illustrating how inone embodiment, the present invention may be used to produce andtransport hydrogen from the place where natural conditions favor theclean, comparatively low cost production of electricity that can be usedto generate hydrogen from water via electrolysis, to the area where thehydrogen is needed as an alternative energy source. Block 101 indicatesthat the first step involves the identification of a location where thenatural conditions or features favor comparatively low cost, cleanelectricity generation.

There are a number of places where such favorable natural conditions arepresent. These include places where substantial electricity is presentlybeing generated on a commercial scale, such as in Hawaii, Iceland andNorthern California, where molten rock and superheated water and steamoccur relatively close to the Earth's surface, or where adequate heatcan be tapped such that injected water to the heat source caneconomically generate electricity, in each such case thereby favoringgeothermal production of hydrogen from such electricity in a preferredembodiment of the invention In other embodiments, the location may relyupon favorable conditions for wind generation, such as along the NorthSea, the southern tip of South America, the Australian island ofTasmania, and certain locations in North America where relativelycontinuous high wind velocity is present. Alternatively, it may relateto ideal solar conditions, such as in the Pacific Ocean, south ofHawaii, in the Sahara, the nation of Niger, and certain parts ofAustralia; as well as locations that are ideally suited to powergeneration from wave energy, tidal flow production, and hydropower,which power is then converted into hydrogen.

Block 102 indicates that at one or more of these locations where naturehas created features that favor comparatively low cost, cleanelectricity generation, known technologies are used to generate hydrogenfrom water using electrolysis. Block 103 illustrates that the hydrogengas generated by this means will be temporarily stored on site or inclose proximity to where it is produced, pending the arrival of asuitable transport vehicle. In step 104, the hydrogen is transportedfrom the place where these natural resources occur—which is often in arelatively remote location—to places where there is a market need forthis alternative energy source.

As illustrated by blocks 104 a through 104 d, the preferred method oftransporting the hydrogen uses the hydrogen itself to provide propulsionenergy for the craft, 104 a; and takes advantage of the lighter-than-airquality of the gas to provide lift, 104 b, thereby materially reducingthe energy needed for transporting the payload. Additionally, thepreferred method for transporting the hydrogen also utilizes thehydrogen for all on-board electrical ancillary needs, 104 c.Accordingly, through practicing the present invention, the excesshydrogen, 104 d, can be delivered to the location where the gas isneeded as an alternative energy source with little to no carbon-fuelconsumption. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, theseattributes are fulfilled by a specially designed airship 200 such asdescribed with regard to FIG. 2, below.

Once at the desired destination, the excess hydrogen, 104 d, can bemoved off the airship to storage, illustrated by block 105. From thisstorage location, the hydrogen can be combusted at an electricitygenerating plant or distributed to other end use locations usingconventional means such as pressurized and non-pressurized portablecontainers and pipelines, illustrated by block 106, to both resellersand/or end users of the clean energy source. This step is in turnillustrated by block 107. Block 108, entitled “Lighter-than-air vehicleusage for transportation of cargo payload on return flight,” illustratesanother principle of one preferred embodiment, which involves utilizingthe craft's return flights for the purpose of carrying passengers and/ora cargo payload, as illustrated by line 109, particularly where suchpayload may be useful to fulfilling particular needs associated with thelocation of the natural features that favor low cost clean electricitygeneration referenced in block 101. In particular, a return flight (orany flight) can carry water, food or other cargo necessary for life froma location where it is abundant to a location where it is needed.

Turning next to FIG. 2A, it will be observed that FIG. 2A depicts anexterior side view of an embodiment of an airship 200 according to thepresent invention. The airship 200 preferably includes an exterior shell201 having a front portion 202, a rear portion 203 and a main axis 204.According to one embodiment of the airship 200, the exterior skin 201may be made from a carbon fiber composite, film laminate or anequivalent material such as KEVLAR™ or other high-strength ballisticnylon, and/or may be coated with fluorocarbon polymer such as TEFLON™ orother similar materials that will minimize the overall weight of craft200 while at the same time providing a protective outer coating andminimal air resistance. KEVLAR and TEFLON are registered trademarksbelonging to the DuPont Corporation of Wilmington Del. Any material withsuitable properties for forming an exterior skin is within the scope ofthe present invention.

Bodies that generate lift, and/or the term lifting bodies, refers to anaircraft configuration where the body of the craft itself (with orwithout wings) produces lift, such as a fuselage that generates liftwithout the shape of a typical thin and flat wing structure. Liftingbodies generally minimize the drag and structure of a wing, and providethe best trade-off in terms of maneuverability and aerodynamics. Thus,in a preferred embodiment, the exterior shape of airship 200 will bedesigned to apply the principles of lifting bodies to conventionaldirigible design.

FIG. 2A also shows one or more optional external flaps, 206 a and 206 b,located on each side of the craft along main axis 204; and 206 c at therear that can function as an elevator flap. Additionally, one or moreoptional single rudder, dual rudders or other stabilizationmethodologies, collectively 207, are located at the rear of the craft orother appropriate locations for enhancing stability and in order to helpsteer the craft. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, each external flap 206 ispreferably mounted so that it can be rotated around a pivot 208, andraised or lowered according to arrows 209 in order to provide additionallift during ascent and stability during descent of the craft.

In a particular embodiment of the present invention, the airship 200 mayfurther include one or more external motors, 210, which may be a jet,turbojet, rotary blade, or propeller-type engine that is preferablypowered by hydrogen as its energy source (but in alternative embodimentsthat may be powered by jet fuel, gasoline, diesel or electricity,including from solar cells mounted on the craft's exterior). Accordingto the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A, external motors 210 may bemounted along the main axis 204, or optionally may be attached to thegondola 205, to one of more or external flaps 206, or to the rearportion 203 of exterior shell 201.

Another advantage of the airship 200 is that, as illustrated in FIG. 2C,each external engine 210, can be optionally mounted so that it can berotated around one or more pivots 211, and turned according to arrows214. This optional feature will permit external engines 210 to be turnedso that the leading edge of the engine 212 can be directed along themain axis 204, perpendicular to that axis for take-off or landing, andat any angle to help speed ascent or descent of the craft. Additionally,in a particular embodiment, external engines 210 may be rotatedlaterally with the rear edge of the engine 213 directed away from thecraft, to help maneuver the airship sideways in the manner achieved bythruster engines in a boat.

The exterior of the craft 201 may be formed of a substantially rigidmaterial such as carbon fiber or any other suitable light weightmaterial; or alternatively any number of readily available flexibleand/or microfiber-based composite materials; or any other hydrogen andhelium retentive materials. Although in an alternative embodiment,lighter-than-air craft 200 may employ a semi-rigid design (e.g.,employing some internal support such as a fixed keel), in a preferredembodiment, the craft can employ a rigid (e.g., with full skeleton)design. However, unlike the rigid design of older airships such as theZeppelin, which were constructed with steel members, the internalstructural elements employed in carrying out the design for airship 200will preferably employ materials having the dual qualities of beinglightweight and extremely strong, such as carbon fiber or nano-tubes,graphite, aluminum and various composite materials that are well knownin modern aeronautical design. Any material that is structurally strongand also light is within the scope of the present invention.

One of the historical challenges of operating a lighter-than-air craftis to control the ship's landing, particularly in cases where thelanding area is tight and/or where weather conditions such as high windsin or near the landing area may make it exceedingly difficult to controla craft having such a large surface area. In order to overcome thischallenge, FIG. 2A depicts that the lighter-than-air craft 200 caninclude a reinforced connector 215 for a lightweight guide-wire cable ortie-line. This optional feature is further illustrated in FIG. 2D, whichshows that guide-wire cable 216 may be physically attached to connector215 at an appropriate point at or near the front of craft 200.

A pole higher than at least half the diameter of the craft can beequipped with a gimble on its top that can swivel to any angle. Theattachment point 218 can be mechanically coupled to this gimble. Oncethe lightweight guide-wire 216 engages the attachment 218, a largerdiameter tie cable can be fed through the attachment 218. The craft canthen be reeled in and tied to the gimble so that it can align itselfwith the prevailing wind much as a sailboat on an anchor. The aft end ofthe craft can then be stabilized, either with an additional tie-down orwith another pole.

In order to direct the first guide-wire 216 into the attachment 218, asmall, remotely controlled unmanned, aerial vehicle (also known as a“UAV” or “drone” craft) or a projectile fired from the airship for thesame purpose, such as illustrated by craft 217 may be attached to theother end of guide-wire cable 216; and such UAV may be flown to thelanding area where guide-wire 216 can be tied to stationary curb 218,and a hoist (not shown) may used by ground personnel to reel-in andsafely secure craft 200. The UAV craft may be flown by wirelesstechniques such as radio or light, or by fly-by-wire where electricalsignals are sent to it using either a small electrical cable that runsalong the guide-wire 216 (or that is the guide-wire), or by using afiber optic cable that runs with the guide-wire 216 (or is theguide-wire). The UAV craft may be piloted from a remote console by thedirigible's pilot or a landing officer. The drone 217 could be mademaneuverable using airfoils and powered with a small engine, all as isknown in the art. The drone 217 or projectile could contain a videocamera, radar or other sensing or navigation device such as GPS. Thedrone 217 can be configured to hover or fly straight as needed fordocking the larger craft. A fired projectile, on the other hand, couldbe fired into a receiving port that could optionally be equipped with anelectromagnetic field. While several methods and techniques fortethering and docking the large craft have been presented, any method ofdocking or attaching the craft to a tie-down or support is within thescope of the present invention.

FIG. 2A shows an embodiment of the lighter-than-air craft of the presentinvention. Many other shapes are possible. In some embodiments, thecraft can be cigar-shaped with a pointed or “needle” nose. The craft canalso have a sharply tapering tail. Designs with these features typicallyhave lower drag coefficients that result in higher speeds with lighterengines. To increase the payload on such a design, the craft can belengthened. FIG. 2A also shows the craft with a gondola 205. The use ofa gondola is optional to carry crew, passengers or cargo. In someembodiments of the present invention, all of the payload can be carriedin a gondola. In other designs, the craft may have no gondola or a smallgondola simply for crew with all most or all the payload being carriedinside the main hull. A gondola 205, if used, may be pressurized forhigh altitude flight (typically flights above 14,000 feet above sealevel will require pressurization).

Now turning to FIG. 3, an interior side view of the embodiment of theairship 200 shown in FIG. 2 can be seen. Inside the craft, one or morehydrogen storage compartments 301 a-301 n, are preferably alternatedwith at least one or more chambers or compartments 302 a-302 n. Thehydrogen storage compartments can 301 a-301 n can be high pressurestorage tanks or other storage devices. Thus, whereas the traditionallighter-than-air craft may use a suspended structure generallycorresponding to gondola area 205 shown in FIG. 2A for carrying itspayload (a technique that can be used with the present invention), inmany embodiments of the present invention, storage compartments or tanks301 a-301 n are able to be filled with hydrogen, preferably in either acompressed or liquefied form as a payload. Chambers or compartments 302a-302 n can contain a system of bladders 305 a-305 n that are able to befilled with hydrogen or helium to afford the additional lift needed toachieve buoyancy once at the desired flight altitude.

Each of chambers 302 a-302 n generally includes an inlet valve or vent,303 a-303 n, and an outlet valve or vent, 304 a-304 n, respectively;however, in many embodiments of the invention, these may be the same,and there may only be one set of openings or vents. The housing ofchambers 302 a-302 n may consist merely of the exterior walls ofhydrogen storage compartments 301 a-301 n and the interior walls ofshell 201; however, it is also possible that they can be constructedfrom a separate flexible liner made of appropriate microfiber-basedcomposite materials or other hydrogen and helium retentive material. Asshown in FIG. 3, a bladder system 305 a-305 n can be disposed insidechambers 302 a-302 n, respectively, to divide the portion of each suchchamber served by the valves or vents. These bladders can be made offlexible microfiber-based composite materials or any other hydrogen andhelium retentive materials, but in alternative embodiments may be platesor bags made of polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, or any other suitablematerials. Any hydrogen or helium retentive material may be used toconstruct the bladder system and is within the scope of the presentinvention. The bladders 305 a-305 n, in effect, can act as inflatablebags or accordion type structures using fixed elements and flexiblematerial.

Generally, each set of compartments 301 a-301 n can contain at least onehigh pressure hydrogen tank 301 (as is also shown in FIG. 4) whilecompartments 302 a-302 n can contain one or more bladders 305 a-305 n.One or more, lower pressure hydrogen tanks 306 can be connected to theoutlet of each bladder. When additional lift or trim is desired, highpressure hydrogen can be vented or pumped 309 from a high pressure tankinto a particular bladder 305 expanding it. As the bladder 305 expandsin the compartment or chamber 302, air at ambient pressure is forced outof the compartment. When less lift is desired, a pump 308 can takehydrogen out of the bladder 305 causing the bladder to collapse andforce it into the second, lower pressure hydrogen tank 306. In thismanner, no hydrogen is mixed with air, vented or wasted. The lowpressure hydrogen can simply be saved in the lower pressure tank,transferred to another tank, ducted to engines to as a fuel, or it canbe pumped back into the high pressure tank using a second, high pressurepump. As a bladder collapses, air at ambient pressure is drawn in fromoutside the craft. In an alternative embodiment, the excess hydrogen canalso simply be vented to the atmosphere.

The bladder system described can selectively increase or decrease theratio of hydrogen to air in the chambers 302 to control the amount oflift the craft achieves at every altitude while ascending and descendingtaking into consideration the changing atmospheric pressure thatnaturally occurs when a craft ascends and descends. This feature can becontrolled automatically by a computer program running on a typicalcomputer, server or other processor known in the art which cansimultaneously monitor external ambient pressure based upon the altitudeof the ship, the desired direction and speed of ascent or descent, andthe lift being achieved, so as to optimize the flow of hydrogen to andfrom one or more bladder or accordion chambers.

The unique configuration of these chambers or compartments, the flexiblebladder system and available hydrogen supply will, in conjunction withthe outside engines 210, airfoils and the optional computer control,permit the bladder system to be used to adjust the quantity and pressureof the hydrogen or helium gas in the chambers to be sufficient for theoverall weight of the craft and its payload (including compressed orliquefied hydrogen in storage tanks) and the desired rate of climb toaltitude, descent from altitude, and/or maintaining relatively neutralbuoyancy once the desired flight altitude is attained.

The bladder system described allows simultaneous control of both liftand fore-aft trim. When the craft is not moving horizontally, adjustmentof bladders in different parts of the ship allow trim control. After thecraft acquires a horizontal speed, trim can also be controlled by theairfoils and engine directions as described. At altitude and speed, thebladders can be set to achieve approximately neutral buoyancy with trimand with part of the lift then being provided by the structure itselfaccording to aeronautical principles with trim being almost exclusivelycontrolled by the airfoils and the engine directions. In general, thecraft of the present invention ascends and descends at relatively slowhorizontal speeds relying on buoyancy control and moves at highhorizontal speeds at altitude for long distance travel relying onairfoils and engines for thrust and/or control.

In accordance with the principles of the invention, the foregoingsystem, method and apparatus is capable of lifting an enormous amount ofweight—on the order of 100 tons (200,000 lbs.) or more—and oftransporting its payload of hydrogen or other cargo over long distancesto where it is needed with comparatively low cost with negligible to noconsumption of carbon-based fuel, and at a speed that is many timesfaster than via ocean tanker. The craft of the present invention maytravel at speeds as high as several hundred miles per hour at highaltitudes.

The present invention has many advantages over the prior art includingthe fact that the airship is able to land on an area that is onlyslightly larger than the size of the craft itself and to take off againwith only modest ground facilities or refueling. Another advantage isthat once the maximum capacity (by volume) of hydrogen storage tanks 301a-301 n is reached, the additional lifting capacity of airship 200 maybe used to carry a payload of freight and/or passengers in gondola area205 at nearly zero incremental cost. Yet another advantage is thatrather than being required to “dead-head” return flights, merely byfilling hydrogen storage tanks 301 a-301 n and chambers 302 a-302 n witha sufficient quantity of hydrogen or helium for the return flight, suchflights may be used in a conventional fashion, either for freight orpassenger transit using gondola 205 and any cabins or storage holdsbuilt into this area.

In another embodiment of the present invention, some portion or all ofstorage compartments 301 a-301 n may be specially adapted to be filledwith water. So outfitted, the ship may be utilized counter-cyclical toits use for transporting hydrogen as previously described for movinglarge quantities of water, such as in connection with areas whereclimate change has reduced runoff from traditional snowpack or glaciers.In these cases, the airship may be used to serve upstream locations forwhich there presently exists no economic means of reverse-gravity flow.In such instances, the flexible bladder system of the instant inventionor the cylinders dedicated to compressed hydrogen used in otherembodiments can be adapted for the purpose of holding large quantitiesof water or other liquids.

The present invention is very versatile for widespread commercializationof hydrogen as a carbon-free alternative fuel source in that it can betailored to accommodate numerous different operations. Thus, forexample, whereas a particular embodiment may entail the use of the craftto economically transport payloads of water, the lighter-than-air shipmay also be used to transport various cargo payloads. Hence, in the caseof the foregoing example of Hawaii, an island blessed with geothermaland wind resources that may fuel the production of hydrogen that couldbe transported to California for use, on the return flight, the ship maybe used to transport tourists and/or large quantities of food and papergoods that are presently being shipped from California to Hawaii. Thispractice may be applied in any number of ways that is tailored to theparticular socio-economic and political-geographic needs.

Several examples will now be presented in order to illustrate theconcepts of the present invention. The scope of the present invention isnot limited to the numbers or quantities expressed in these examples.Straight hydrogen gas lift will be first considered, followed by thepower required to achieve high speeds at altitude. Simplifyingassumptions will be made.

As part of the first example, consider an airship according to thepresent invention designed to lift a maximum weight of 400,000 lbs.;cruise at an altitude of 39,000 feet; and maintain a maximum speed of100 MPH at that altitude. Assume the craft has the shape shown in FIG. 1with a maximum diameter of 300 feet and a length of 1700 feet. Forsimplicity in this example, this will be considered to be a cylinder ofthese dimensions. The volume of such a cylinder is 120,165,919 cubicfeet, or approximately 3,402,720 cubic meters.

Air at sea level has a density of around 1.225 kg/cu meter, and at39,000 feet, a density of around 0.316406 kg/cu meter according to thestandard atmosphere model. Thus, at sea level, 3,402,720 cu. meters ofair weighs about 4,168,332 kg, and at 39,000 feet, it weighs about1,076,641 kg. It is well known that a body possesses lift (positivebuoyancy) when the weight of its displacement is greater than its totalweight. The total lift force is the weight of its displacement of airminus the total weight.

Molecular hydrogen gas has a density of around 0.08988 kg/cu meter.Thus, if the entire cylinder was filled with hydrogen gas, the gas wouldweigh about 305,836 kg. The lift at sea level would be 3,862,496 kg andat 39,000 feet 770,805 kg. This results in a lift of 8,515,339 lbs. atsea level and 1,699,332 lbs. at 39,000 feet for the example given.

Of course, the ship is not a cylinder as assumed in this example, andthe entire structure would not be filled with hydrogen gas. However, itcan be seen that even neglecting these simplifying assumptions, ataltitudes much greater than 39,000 feet, there is entirely adequate gaslift using this size ship for a total craft weight, including payload,of 400,000 lbs. or greater.

The next example will consider speed at altitude, again 39,000 feet forthis particular case. It is well known that to maintain a particularspeed in a fluid, the thrust force must equal the drag force. Drag forceis equal to ½ times the drag coefficient times the density times thecross-sectional area times the speed squared. Thus drag, and hencerequired thrust, increases (or decreases) linearly with density andarea, and quadratically with speed.

The drag coefficient is independent of area, density or speed and isrelated only to the type of flow and the shape of the body. Since theair density at 39,000 feet is thin, the assumption will be made that thetype of flow is laminar with a boundary layer. The drag coefficient fora bullet slug shaped object (both ends) in this type of flow is around0.3 (in contrast, an extremely aerodynamic airfoil at zero angle ofattack has a drag coefficient of around 0.045). If the object is madenarrower (more cigar-shaped), the drag coefficient decreasessignificantly.

Again, assuming a diameter of 300 feet (or radius of 45.72 meters) witha double bullet shape, the cross-sectional area is about 6,467 sq.meters. 100 MPH is 45 meters/second. Using the density of air at 39,000feet from the standard atmosphere of 0.316406 kg/cu meter, the dragforce is 622,860 Newtons, or 140,024 lbs. This thrust could be suppliedby several conventional jet engines.

Much higher speeds can be attained with a cigar-shaped craft. Consideragain for example a cigar-shaped craft of 100 feet in diameter with afriction coefficient of 0.17. In this case, the thrust required tomaintain 350 MPH is 108,000 lbs. This could be supplied by severalconventional jet engines. A craft 100 feet in diameter with a length of4000 feet configured as a cylinder totally filed with hydrogen couldlift 2,226,232 lbs. at sea level and 444,269 lbs at 39,000 feet. Thus,in this example, a speed of 350 MPH is attained at altitude while stilllifting 222 tons of total weight to that altitude. A pointed or “needle”nose and tail would add further to the aerodynamic efficiency.

The above-discussed examples clearly show the feasibility ofconstructing a hydrogen carrying craft that could lift 100 tons to39,000 feet and maintain 300 MPH at that altitude with only two engines.The examples show an abundant lift capacity to lift the weight of theengines and payload as well as the structural weight of the proposedcraft.

As stated, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, theengines in the preferred embodiment burn hydrogen (perhaps from a tankof highly compressed or liquefied gas). The engines can also run onnon-conventional fuel such as hydrozine. Such engines are generally muchlighter than a conventional jet engine and will provide adequate thrustfor the craft of the present invention. Total drag can be minimized byreducing the diameter of the craft, using a pointed nose and possiblytail. The payload carrying capability can then be increased bylengthening the craft. The craft can thus be lengthened (within thebounds of structural stability) to tradeoff payload carrying capacityagainst engine and possibly fuel weight.

An alternative embodiment of the present invention is where the outsidesurfaces 400 of the airship includes numerous solar cells 401 that canbe mounted individually or belong to a series of panels. These solarcells can be used to power electric motors 402 and other equipmentaboard the ship. Typically, the solar cells 401 charge a battery orsystem of batteries in order to provide a constant source of electricpower. This embodiment can use the hydrogen or helium bladder systempreviously described with pump motors being powered by energy from thesolar cells. In this system lift gas is released into inflatablebladders to provide lift for the ship. When less lift is needed, the gasfrom the bladders is recovered and stored in a low pressure storagesystem.

The lighter-than-air ship previously described requires a method ofloading and unloading cargo and passengers. While there are many knownways of carrying cargo in a vessel, the preferred technology of thepresent invention is a system of parallel rails located in rows atvarious heights in the airship hull that receive and hold cargocontainers by suspension from a rail wheel in a gondola fashion. Therails typically run the length of the hull fore and aft. Containers,which can be the same size as standard cargo container used incommercial shipping, are raised into position at base of the hull andthere grasped by a lifting device such as a crane. They can then belifted to the desired rail level and manipulated horizontally to thecorrect final rail. They are then suspended from that rail, and movedforward into the hull along the rail. Container after container can beloaded this way, until the rails in the hull are fully loaded or thereare no more containers to load.

Typical shipping containers are 40 feet long and 10 feet wide. Acontainer can be moved from a ground location on a special vehicle to aloading position below the level of the open hull of the airship. Thespecial vehicle can then optionally elevate the container into theloading position near or somewhat below the height of the lower marginof the hull. The vehicle can be of the type that can elevate its payloadto different vertical positions. An example of this type of vehicle isthe well-known passenger transport vehicles used at Dulles Airport inthe United States. The container is placed on the vehicle using astandard container crane at a staging area. At this point the vehicleelevation system is at its lowest level. The vehicle then drives thecontainer to a predetermined hull loading position, and elevates ittoward the hull opening. The container can be equipped with slots at itsfour corners.

Once in vertical position, a special crane device attaches hooks to thefour corners of the container that terminate with cables into one ormore rail wheels. The crane then manipulates the rail wheel andcontainer vertically and horizontally to the termination of the desiredrail. The wheel is engaged with the rail and the container is then movedonto the rail and suspended from it. A rail tug device or other devicethen moves the container forward into the hull along the rail to itsfinal position where it can be secured for transport. The containersthus ride end-to-end along each rail. Depending upon the particular sizeof the airship, as many is fifty or more rails can be accommodatedallowing numerous containers to be loaded.

In an optional embodiment in lieu of, or as an enhancement to suchspecial vehicle, a separate loading line can be provided to enable achange in elevation between the bed of the truck or train on which theyare delivered to the embarkation area, and in yet a third optionalembodiment to create a queue of pre-positioned containers for loadingonto the lighter than aircraft in a single operation. Similar to theloading area of a gondola at ski resorts, in such optionalconfigurations, this side line will enable much of the logistics ofloading containers to take place at a different speed and elevation thanthe main rail wheels in the air-ship.

FIGS. 5A-5B show a design of a container lift vehicle. A container 400,is loaded on the bed 401 of a vehicle 402 such as a truck or othervehicle where it is temporarily secured. The vehicle 402 then transportsthe container 400 to a specific hull loading position in proximity tothe airship. The bed 401 then elevates the container 400 as shown inFIG. 5B to a height for loading. The specific loading position andheight location is predetermined so that the crane device 404 or otherspecial device on the airship, or near the airship can grasp thecontainer 400 and raise it to a correct loading position.

FIG. 6A shows the subsequent loading process. The container 400 firsthas a rail wheel 406 attached to it. This can be done manually, or thecrane device 404 can do it. The rail wheel 406 couples to the fourcorners of the container with cables 407. The container 400 is thengrasped by the special crane 404 that can typically roll into positionwith large wheels or can be fixed at a loading location. The crane 404lifts the container to a desired vertical position with respect to thehull 405 and then manipulates the container to a desired lateral orhorizontal position. The crane 404 generally has an extension rail 405that mates with, and continues, a particular rail 403 from the ship hull408.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show the rail configuration inside the hull 408 of theairship. FIG. 6A shows the side view configuration; FIG. 6B shows a rearview configuration. Rails 403 run the length of the hull 408 and runparallel in rows across the hull. There are multiple levels of such railrows depending upon the diameter of the hull. A 150 foot diameter cansupport approximately two vertical rail levels. A 300 foot diameter hullcan support approximately four rail levels. The upper 80% of the hull408 typically contains hydrogen lift equipment such as bladders andtanks previously described. The rails typically take up the remaining20% of the hull. These percentages are approximate with differentconfigurations possible with different lighter-than-air ships. The rails403 can be single rails or rail pairs (or any other rail configuration).Single rails are preferred for efficiency and to keep weight down. Therails are separated vertically so that there is space for containers 400to hang above one-another. A typical container is around ten feet high.The rail and wheel can occupy approximately five feet or slightly more,so that the vertical distance between rails is approximately fifteenfeet.

FIG. 6B shows an end-on view of the hull 408 and the rails 403.Containers 400 are typically ten feet wide and can be packed closely onthe sides. Thus, fifteen rows of rails horizontally takes upapproximately 150 horizontal feet with the rails 403 spaced ten totwelve feet apart. Since the rails are typically located in the bottom20% of the hull space, the rounded shape of the hull causes this numberto be smaller. FIG. 6B shows ten containers horizontally in the top rowwith some left over space on each side for possibly smaller containers,and four containers on the bottom row with some left over space. If, asshown in FIG. 6A, the hull is long enough to line up sixteen containersfore and aft on each rail, the total number of containers in thisexample is 192 containers. This number is given for example only;numerous rail and container configurations are possible in differentsized lighter-than-air ships.

The rails can be steel or they can be made from lighter strong aluminumor other metal alloys. The rail wheels can also be steel or made fromlighter alloys. Using well known methods to those skilled in the art,various safety features may be added to reduce rocking and movement toacceptable tolerances, as well as to provide for safety straps in theevent of a failure of the main harness or rail system.

FIG. 7 shows a rail tug 600 pushing a container 400 forward after it isengaged on a rail. Each container has a length of approximately fortyfeet and can be pushed as far forward as possible. Ten containers thustake up approximately 400 feet along the length of the hull. The sixteencontainers of the previous example take up 640 feet. Again, the exactnumber of containers that a particular airship can hold depends entirelyupon the dimensions of the airship hull and the total weight alloweddepends on its lifting capacity. The rail tug 600 can be self powered,can move both fore and aft, and can optionally be remotely controlled,preferably wirelessly with safety features. It is typically designed tomove fore and aft along different rails pushing or pulling containersinto or from a shipping position. The rail tug can be equipped withemergency shutdown if it encounters a force greater than a predeterminedamount. The crane device 404 can have a portion of rail where the railtug 600 can pull back to leave room for a new container. As stated, thecrane device 404 has a track continuation that can mate with any of therails in the hull as the crane is moved vertically and horizontally. Therail tug 600 can use this rail extension as a parking place when not inuse, or when waiting for a new container.

A similar system can be used to load and unload passengers. A passengerbus or other vehicle can load a particular number of passengers. The busthen conveys these passengers to the loading point at the bottom of therear hull exactly like a cargo container. This is shown in FIG. 8. Thevehicle can elevate the passenger compartment 700 to a level where itcan be hooked on four corners and loaded with a rail wheel onto aparticular rail 704, usually an empty rail. The passenger compartment700 can then be pushed forward in the hull by a tug 600 exactly as afirst cargo container would be. At the front end of the rail, thecompartment encounters a soft stop 702 (which can be a plunger or thelike), and interfaces with a hatch or doorway. The passengers can thenleave the passenger compartment and enter the ship proper. This entrycan be an ante-room with a stairway and/or elevator 702 that takes thepassengers down to the gondola level 703, or other passenger area wherethey will remain for the trip. Both cargo and passenger egress from theship is handled in exactly the same way as disclosed above, run inreverse. Cargo is moved from the ship by the tug and loaded onto thespecial transport vehicle or loading line described in the optionalembodiment. In the case of persons, passengers may ascend to theante-room, entering the movable passenger compartment 700 through ahatch or doorway, and having the passenger compartment pulled (orpushed) out along the rail 704 to the point where the crane lowers thecompartment to the bus base vehicle base or separate queue rail fortransport to a terminal building.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show the separate queue rail 901 described above in theoptional embodiment. FIG. 9A illustrates the utility of this optionalqueuing rail in effecting a change in elevation from a traditionaltransport bed 403 of a truck or train car 402, to the elevation of oneof the main rails 704 in the lighter-than-air craft. FIG. 9B, which is atop view, shows that such queuing rail slowly merges at junction 902when in position with main rail 704, thereby enabling the rail tug orother means to pull the container from queuing rail 901 and onto themain rail 704. As noted previously, the process is reversed whenunloading the ship in this optional embodiment.

The previous description of a cargo and passenger loading system canhave many variations. It is not entirely necessary that all the rails beparallel; however, that is the most efficient configuration and theeasiest to load. Other methods can be used to move the containers foreand aft besides a rail tug. For example, in an alternative embodiment,containers can be coupled to one another on the rail and pushed orpulled from the front end in a manner similar to a railroad train. It isalso, it is not required that containers be transported by truck from astaging area to the hull loading location; they could be plucked off ofrailcars or brought in by separate trucks. It is also not necessary thattrucks be able to elevate the containers. They can be picked up by thecrane at ground level.

The terms and expressions employed herein have been used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation; and thus, there is no intent ofexcluding equivalents, but on the contrary, such terms are intended tocover any and all equivalents that may be employed without departingfrom the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

I claim:
 1. A loading system for a lighter-than-air craft hullcomprising, in combination: a vehicle constructed to transport cargocontainers into a hull loading area; a plurality of longitudinal railslocated inside the lighter-than-air craft hull running fore and aft,each rail having a unique vertical position and a unique horizontalposition inside the hull; a crane constructed to raise a particularcontainer transported by said vehicle to the unique vertical position ofone of the plurality of rails and to move the particular containerhorizontally to the unique horizontal position of said one of theplurality of rails; wherein the crane is also constructed to attach arail wheel to the particular container and suspend the particularcontainer from said one of the plurality of rails; a rail tugconstructed to push or pull the particular container along said one ofthe plurality of rails forward into the hull to a final shippinglocation for the particular container.
 2. The loading system of claim 1wherein the vehicle is constructed to raise the particular container toa first height from where the particular container can be attached tothe crane.
 3. The loading system of claim 1 further comprising: apassenger compartment constructed to transport passengers carried on abus vehicle from a terminal to the hull loading area, the passengercompartment constructed so that the crane can load the passengercompartment onto a particular rail using a rail wheel, the particularrail terminating in a passenger egress point where passengers can enterthe lighter-than-air craft.
 4. The loading system of claim 3 wherein theegress point terminates in an elevator or stairs constructed to allowpassengers to descend from the hull to a gondola attached to the bottomof the lighter-then-air ship or to a passenger receiving area.
 5. Theloading system of claim 1 wherein the rail wheel is attached to theparticular container by cables attached to four corners of theparticular container.
 6. The loading system of claim 1 wherein the craneincludes wheels constructed so that it can roll into position at thehull loading area.
 7. The loading system of claim 1 wherein the rail tugis configured to push containers along each of the plurality of railsuntil every rail is loaded.
 8. The loading system of claim 1 wherein therail tug is self-powered and can be remotely controlled.
 9. The loadingsystem of claim 8 wherein the rail tug is controlled wirelessly.
 10. Theloading system of claim 1 wherein all rails are parallel.
 11. Theloading system of claim 1 wherein each rail is a single rail.
 12. Theloading system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of rails occupiesapproximately 20% of said hull.
 13. A loading system for alighter-than-air ship comprising: a plurality of parallel rails locatedin a lighter-than-air ship hull, the rails running fore and aft in thehull; space for a plurality of cargo containers in the hull, whereineach cargo container can be equipped with a rail wheel and suspendedfrom one of said rails from the rail wheel; a lifting device constructedto lift each container from a loading point and place it on a particularrail for shipping.
 14. The loading system of claim 13 wherein theplurality of parallel rails occupies approximately 20% of the hull. 15.The loading system of claim 13 wherein the rails are configured in atleast two horizontal rows located above one-another, each horizontal rowcontaining two or more parallel rails.
 16. A loading system for alighter-than-air ship comprising: a plurality of parallel rails locatedin a lighter-than-air ship hull, the rails running fore and aft in thehull; space for a plurality of cargo containers in the hull, whereineach cargo container can be equipped with a rail wheel and suspendedfrom one of said rails from the rail wheel; a loading line extendedbetween the hull and a loading point below the lighter-than-air shipconfigured to enable a change in elevation between the loading point andan elevation of a particular rail in the hull for shipping.
 17. Theloading system of claim 16 wherein a queue of containers are placed onsaid loading line and pulled upward along the loading line onto theparticular rail in the lighter-than-air ship.